Friday. October 22. Day 84.

We shared our breakfast table with a journalist from The Somerset Journal who interviewed the crew. Ailsa and Mark from the Caledon Hotel met up with us a bit later, they stocked up with some Skate for Change T-shirts, which the whole crew signed. they want to frame one, and put it up for displayin the hotel.

While waiting for the team to finish up, so the day’s session could get under way, Human though it a good idea to pop into the casino for a moment or two. Well, a moment or two later he stepped out a bit richer. It was time to get the show on the road.

The road was anything but easy and Puddy’s luck was against him (unlike Human’s) as he faced a 5km climb off about 300m. Puddy on the other and gave the uphill the finger and pushed like a monster. 84 Days on the road has turned Puddy into a skateboarding machine. The team just looked on in awe from within the van as he climbed the mountain. Reaching the top Puddy was not rewarded with a downhill; however that is said to come. The Sir Lauwries Pass which awaits us in the next day or two is apparently a monster of a downhill, long and steep.

After the 23km skate for the day and the killer uphill which was conquered we made way for our new base camp. The Protea Hotel in Stellenbosch gave us accommodation for four evenings, massages for each member. They even made us a “welcome” sign which was just great. Definitely looking forward staying here this week.

Tomorrow is our day off and we look forward to exploring the beautiful town of Stellenbosch.

Sunday. October 10. Day 72

Even though our base camp is still in Mosselbay, we took the road out of there today heading towards Swellendam. The road was pretty standard so Puddy maintained an average of 20km/h. We did a total of 21 km’s today pushing us through the 1500km mark and on to a total of 1509 km’s done on Skate for Change 2010.

1500km mark!

We also bade farewell to our accommodation of one night which Max arranged for us and booked into some new housing, a nice comfortable apartment at the Point Village Hotel.

Backpackers who gave us a nights free accommodation.

The conditions were nice today, not too much wind and not too hot. Puddy spent a lot of time skating behind the van where Max kept him company and the two joked around quite a bit. Anything to get your mind off skating a flat surface for 25k’s straight a day...

At sunset we all gathered for a nice cool drink and something to eat. Whales leapt out of the water as if they where saluting us – or we like to think so at least. Tomorrow back on the road as we are getting closer to our destination day by day.

Safety First. part off the safety dance we do prior to each session.

CAR WASH ALERT. TO all living in the Atterbury area PTA be sure to get your car washed by some local honeys. All proceeds to go to the charity!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday. September 28. Day 60.

Double time.....

It was evident today that the weekends rest paid off as Puddy pushed whopping a total of 51km’s today.

We woke this morning to the friendly faces of the guest house owners and after a healthy breakfast made our way to the marker.

The weather was great for skating with no wind pumping from the front.

The weather was great for skating with no wind pumping from the front.

The road surface was abit rough and after a couple of k’s Puddy started complaining about the constant vibration in his calves. Puddy kept pushing though, and soon the surface took a turn for the better.

A visitor from “another planet” joined Puddy, for a brief moment on the road. A team of engineers were driving a solar powered car past us, escorted by a van. Much like we are doing. They contacted us a while later and organised that we take a photo with them but unfortunately we couldn’t manage to locate each other.

Trucks were a bit of a problem as they sped past dangerously fast causing Puddy’s cap to blow off.

We made it back around lunch at grabbed something to eat at a local coffee shop. The friendly owner gave as a friendly R100 donation after he heard what we were doing.

Puddy felt recharged after lunch and said he wanted to go out on the road and do another session. So off we went to burn some more rubber..

DJ Fresh from 5fm phoned Puddy while on the road. He does this on Tuesdays and Fridays to get an update on the tour. Soon after Puddy said good bye people started responding and recognising us on the road.

Further down the road the road looked better as the surface smoothed out again. Some more "visitors" came to say hi to Puddy as he skated along. A pack of baboons lurked over the road to have a look at this strange being that is Puddy. At first Puddy was scared shouting "hulle gaan my buit" but luckily he moved past them without being attacked. Planning this trip we never thought we would have to prepare for animal threats.

We made it back to camp with a great 51 km's on the clock for the day. 31 during the morning session and then 20 in the afternoon with a 19km/h average and top speed of 24km p/h.

Be sure to catch Puddy on 5fm during the Fresh Drive show on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Sunday. September 26. Day 58

Our last day in J Bay we spent resting and preparing for the road ahead of us. Hopefully it’ not like the one we encountered coming in. The wind has not died down yet either and we hope that it will die out before we get back on the road.

The weekend in Jeffery’s Bay was definitely a good one as we managed to gather some much needed support from holiday makers. Puddy also got some good skating done at the Quicksilver Bowl which he says is undeniably one of if not the best bowls in South Africa

We would like to remind you about our Skate For Change shirts produced by Quicksilver. We will have photos up shortly and you can order them from us by mailing us at human@skateforchange.co.za. After we have contacted you we will post it to you where ever you are. The great thing is that a percentage goes to our cause so not only do you receive a rad shirt but you also support as well.

Thursday. September 16. Day 48.

Danger on the road...

We went for the days session but Puddy found the traffic to intimidating and dangerous. There was nou yellw line or shoulder to skate on. So We travelled a distance of 7.8 km’s.

WE drove through to P.E. to sort out accomdation for the next few days and to get a feel for the road to P.E. The Palace Guesthouse sorted us out for one evening after which we transfer to the Protea Hotel.

That night we ate some Pizza on the board walk and discussed tomorrow. The SABC News team are meeting us tomorrow for an interview and to film us skate. This will hopefulle raise more awareness for the cause and push the donations higher.

A massive thanks to James at The Sundowner BB who hooked us up with accommodation the previous two nights.

Tuesday. September 7. Day 39.

“If the weather holds up we are in for some good laughs and fun times”. So ended yesterday and started today – with some good laughs and good times.

Arose this morning, with some PeriPeri scrambled eggs for breakfast, and a sun shining like only the summer sun can. Cornell did some interviews for the diary cam and we headed out on the road.

We started skating 5k’s before Cradock upon which we painted Puddy green from head to toe, no it’s not a tribute to The Hulk but rather creating some awareness for another cause close to our hearts. The South African Green Skin Initiative exists to combat racism in our diverse country and advocates racial neutrality and tolerance. We are all green Skinned.

The skating went much better than yesterday. A light wind from the front, 42km/h top speed averaging 23km/h.

Passersby “skeefd” the “Incredible Puddy” as he rolled through town. Closing in on the edge of town, kids from the local neighborhoods started following us and cheering. Before long there were hordes of children screaming and running around the van in total awe of the great green skater.

Stopping we spent some time with the kids, telling them about our cause and the Green Skin initiative. We bought some big bags of chips (filled with smaller packets and handed them to the kids). It was amazing to see their faces light up and really shows one how little they have and how fortunate we are.

After the excitement we headed back to base camp where we relaxed for a bit and started preparing for tomorrow. A mile stone awaits us as we pass the 900km mark. Looking forward to that!

Wednesday. September 1. Day 33

Today was one of our scheduled off days which Puddy welcomed with a smile. All slept a bit later and took the chance to re vitalise and prepare.

Had a nice breakfast and a heap of thanks to Johan from The Glasgow Pont Hotel for 3 nights free accommodation and great food. He also let us sign his bar wall as a memento from our side.

The rest of the day was spent in relaxed fashion having lunch and enjoying the sun set on the bridge while picking up on our hackey skills.